Chapter 1160: Choice of Hearts (Part 2)

Life and the path of evolution share many similarities.

They both offered choices, both simple and complex, and each choice had a series of consequences that affected subsequent options.

Naturally, deep down, everyone wanted more good and easy choices and as few difficult ones as possible.

At the same time, everyone felt a sense of excitement and a desire to find out what lay behind the most difficult choices. What would happen to them and their lives if they only went through the most difficult trials?

Well, not all of Adam’s choices were the most dangerous and difficult. Sometimes it was beyond his control, but when he was presented with the opportunity to gain something valuable and risky, he simply couldn’t pass it up.

That’s why he chose the third star, even though he knew it would be a difficult test for him.

But maybe it was the only right choice?

As Damien said, every star at the Path Construct could be the last.

Perhaps if he had chosen the first or second stars, his journey would have ended before it even began.

Now, someone similar to Adam—Damien—knew all the details.

“Hah, Adam, you didn’t disappoint me.”

He waved his hand with an excited smile.

“There won’t be any problems with the Twilight and Midnight Crystals, especially the white one. After this conversation, we’ll go to the Zero Day Vault and you’ll get the Midnight Crystal. For you, as a future K4-Phantom, we prepared one a long time ago, who knew you wouldn’t need it. Hahaha!”

Adam smiled faintly as he nodded in gratitude.

“Thanks, but… What about the hearts? Considering that I have a choice, even getting one heart should be harder than two crystals, right?”

“Hmm, you see… The Dark Hearts and the Connected Hearts aren’t some kind of resource or special artifact, they’re the hearts of living beings, specific ones.”

Adam leaned forward as his expression grew serious.

“Which ones? I don’t mind going hunting. It won’t be the first time I’ve had to kill a monster, but… from the looks of it, it’s not going to be that simple.”

A bright chuckle came from Damien.

“Yeah, you’re right. I just didn’t expect your first star to have such complicated conditions. For most Phantoms, it’s something simple. Well, there’s nothing we can do, I’ll tell you about these hearts.”

Adam didn’t know what to expect. He had several thoughts on the matter. He assumed that the Dark Hearts could be somehow connected to the First Star, but he had no idea about the Connected Hearts.

The answers were not what he had hoped for.

“Let’s start with the simple ones — the Dark Hearts,” Damien began in a low voice.

“I don’t know what you expect to hear, but only one species in this world has the Dark Hearts — the Hybrids.”

Adam’s eyes widened in disbelief.

He only knew of one Hybrid — Nessa, and she was human.

What Damien said didn’t fit into his worldview.

Damien understood that.

“You probably thought of your friend, Nessa, right?”

Adam nodded uncertainly.

“Well, neither Magnus nor Nessa lied to you. She is the only human who became a Hybrid.”

Then, Damien’s eyes darkened.

“This is the World Wipe. Magnus is a smart guy, but for him, seven years will be the first World Wipe. Compared to the Gamma Division and many K4-Phantoms, he’s quite young, especially Nessa. How many years ago did she become a Hybrid? Well, it hasn’t even been 20, so in general, it’s just a blink of an eye.”

“W-Wait… The Hybrids exist? I mean, you said that Nessa is the only human in this World Wipe, what does that mean?”

Damien folded his arms as he leaned forward.

“Exactly what I said. It’s actually very difficult for a human to become a Hybrid. I’ll tell you about the conditions later. What you need to understand right now is that most Hybrids aren’t humans, they’re monsters.”

Strangely enough, instead of answering, Damien confused Adam even more.

“Wait… Aren’t Hybrids a mixture of humans and monsters? What do you mean, most Hybrids are monsters?”

Damien shook his head.

“You’re thinking about it in terms of flesh and blood, when in fact it’s all about energy and the path you choose. Moreover, unlike Nessa, who became a Hybrid and was an absolute weakling, a monster simply cannot become a Hybrid before reaching the Black Threat Level.”

“Agh…?”

“Adam, you’ve already been to the Dark Shore and seen many Lords. You were lucky that Wilfred was there and that you met a True Lord from the Free End, otherwise, you wouldn’t have survived. But… didn’t you notice something special or even strange about the Lords? Something that would distinguish them from ordinary monsters?”

Adam had no answer. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t understand what Damien was talking about. He couldn’t find a suitable explanation.

“Alright.” Damien waved his hand. “Let’s approach it from another angle. The Thunder Demon, the Plague Reaper, the Crimson Monarch, Arnoth, and many other monsters you’ve fought. What connected them all?”

Then it finally dawned on Adam.

“Type… Each of them had their own Type… Right, the Lords, they all have unique abilities, but at the same time, they are similar to each other. Just like the Phantoms. We are different, but we have a lot in common.”

“Yes, apart from the Evolution Tree, every Phantom has one thing in common—the Nexus.”

After that, Damien looked away.

“You saw it, right? How did the Lords use their weapons?”

Adam nodded in confirmation.

“That’s the Arc. Every Lord has this weapon, almost every one, because… If a Hybrid becomes a Lord, they don’t get the Arc, they get something else in their arsenal. That’s the main difference between them.”

“But… How does that work?” Adam asked. He still couldn’t understand how it was connected.

Damien folded his arms as he stared intently at Adam.

This was an important milestone for every Phantom, and because of his situation, Adam had to learn about it earlier than the others, even among the K4-Phantoms.

‘Hah, maybe this guy will make it to the plan. Unless he dies, of course.’